June 22^nd, 2012

Day 34: Krakow & Oświęcim, Poland

Today was the day I’ve been looking forward to ever since I learned about WWII and the Nazi regime: my visit to Auschwitz & Birkenau. This is a part of history that both fascinates and disgusts me, and has grown to become even more significant as I continued to study rhetoric and persuasion in college. Hitler was a man with charisma- a man who successfully convinced an entire military force to persecute those who were no different from themselves in the most inhumane ways possible. That makes him fascinating to a rhetorician- how was he successful? What did he say and do that convinced the world around him- without any doubt whatsoever- that these people were subhuman?

It is a question that I’ve pondered since I learned about the Holocaust, even moreso after reading part of his book, Mein Kampf, and learning about logic, reasoning and argumentation. Needless to say, I’d been looking forward to this day for a while.

In the morning, I purchased a ticket from a tour agency that works with the hostel to get bus transportation there and back, an English tour guide, and transportation between the two camps. The town of Oscweim, where both camps are located, was about an hour and a half away from central Krakow. Once I got there, we were given headsets so that we could easily hear our guide and be sure we didn’t miss out on any information as we walked through the crowded exhibits.

We began in Auschwitz I, the original location of the Nazi concentration camp in Poland. It is basically Polish military barracks that were converted and changed to better suit the Nazi’s purpose. There is an ominous gate as you first walk into Auschwitz with the famous inscription “Arbeit Macht Frei” which means “Work will set you free.” The irony of the sign is not lost upon the visitors of Auschwitz, considering the people who walked through the gates were either killed immediately, worked to death, or ‘exterminated’ when more room and stronger workers was needed. There was essentially no hope for anyone who entered that camp as a prisoner.

We walked through the camp of Auschwitz and went into several of the blocks were many exhibits were set up, both physical representations of what happened as well as just photos. Here are some of the photos that explain a bit about what life in the camp was like:

The streets of Auschwitz.

"The corpses of prisoners shot while trying to escape were often displayed here as a warning to others"- a sign immediately inside the gates.

An urn signifying the 1.1 million Jews who lost their lives in the Auschwitz concentration camps

A collection of glasses (belonging to Jews) that were taken from the Canada storage facilities- Upon disembarking the cattle trains, Jews were told to leave their luggage behind. From here it was confiscated, pillaged, and sorted into categories. Many of the goods that were collected were sent back to Germany to be sold to German people, or stockpiled in storage facilities called 'Canada' facilities.

A collection of confiscated suitcases and luggage from Jewish prisoners

 

Children's shoes. Prior to entering the gas chamber, all prisoners were stripped naked and their clothing confiscated. This represents only a portion of the children who were sent to Auschwitz, only to be killed almost immediately after arriving.

A barren yard in the central square where roll call was taken each morning.

A watchtower

The outside of Gas Chamber/Crematorium #1. This was the first gas experimental gas chamber in existence, which paved the way for further development.

After we concluded the tour of Auschwitz I, we got back in our van and headed a bit down the street towards Birkenau (also known as Auschwitz II). Birkenau was the site of the first mass execution gas chambers and crematoriums. Walking through the front railroad gate of Birkenau, it immediately felt different. This camp is not like the first, in that it was not an old complex used for a new purpose- it was a camp designed and made to be a work/death camp for Jews. As soon as I walked through the gate and looked out at the landscape, I was anxious. My heart started racing, I was clenching my jaw and a hugged my arms around my body because I was suddenly cold. None of this is an exaggeration in the least- I was scared, nervous and very much on edge from the very first minute.

Birkenau just looks like thousands of people have died there. It gives off an aura of hopelessness and deprivation. Through the center of the camp runs a long railroad track, where the cattle cars stuffed with Jewish prisoners would roll in and unload. From here, the prisoners would be separated into 2 lines: one for men, and one for women & children. Here, a camp doctor would go through and point at the people he wanted to go to work. The rest, typically about 75 percent of the numbers who disembarked the trains, were sent straight to the gas chambers.

"Arrival of Jews from Hungary"

"Before the Selection"

"On the way to death"

For those who were chosen to live and work, they were sentenced to overcrowded, inadequate wooden or brick houses that would sleep upwards of 1,000 people, crowing about 5 to each ‘bed.’ By bed, I mean rows of wooden shelves, essentially, with straw on top of the wooden slats.

These living quarters were anything buy hygienic, some of them not even being equipped with litrines or washing basins. The proximity of people to each other, lack of proper insulation or clothing to stay warm, and risk of disease/infection all added up to an awful situation, complicated by the fact that the Jews were served small portions of vegetables (often rotten) for meals each day. Here are some photos from the rest of Birkenau:

The main railway station through the gates of Birkenau

The right side of the tracks where the S.S. tried to burn all evidence of the camps before they evacuated. Most of the houses were made of wood, so the only things that remain are the cement foundation and the chimneys.

The path to get to Gas Chamber/Crematorium numbers 3 and 4.

The ruins of Gas Chamber/Crematorium number 2. This section was the crematorium.

The pond on the left is the site of a mass grave- the ashes from Crematorium #2 were dumped in this area throughout its years of operation. It hasn't been touched since the camp was liberated and has formed into a natural pond now. The four stones (all in different languages) were erected as a memorial to all those who perished in this crematorium. 

The memorial reads "To the memory of the men, women and children who fell victim to the Nazi genocide. Here lie their ashes. May their souls rest in peace."

The overall experience in Auschwitz & Birkenau was overwhelming, extremely sad and essentially left me speechless and in awe that these atrocities occurred a mere 70 years ago. To think that humans could be so incredibly awful to one another because of a difference in religion (or ‘side’ of the war, or cultural background as was the case with POWs, Poles, and Gypsys who were also in the camps) disgusted me. The people in this camp were treated as if they were subhuman- poor food rations, tough manual labor, unbelievably poor living conditions, and even sometimes used as science experiments. It’s one thing to learn about in high school/college or watch a documentary on the History Channel, but it’s a completely different experience when you’re actually there, where it all happened. On the same soil you’re standing on. In the same blocks you’re walking through. I felt the weight of the racism, the hatred, the pain and the suffering on my shoulders as I walked through that camp. It wasn’t pleasant, but it was eye opening. In terms of my field of study, it showed me how powerful rhetoric can be, and how it can be used for both good and evil. It was also a solemn reminder of the dangers of racism and persecution in our society. It may seem ludicrous to some of us today to think that one man could change the mindset thousands of soldiers at his disposal to become cold-blooded torturers and murderers, but it happened. These two camps (and the many others spread out in Eastern Europe) are proof. The death toll of 6 million Jews during WWII is proof. The piles and piles of personal belongings that now lay orphaned once had a home with happy, full Jewish families; the Nazi regime tore that apart. I’m very thankful that I was able to finally visit these camps, and while it left me with tear-streaked cheeks and an unshakable feeling of deep deep hurt, I’m better for it. I think I will be able to reflect on my experiences here to remind myself why I do what I do, why I fight for what I fight for, and why I live my life with an open heart and mind. Many of the people involved in WWII or the Holocaust are passing on at this point in time which leaves us with the risk of losing sight of the severity of the past, but I know that I won’t forget. Ever.